FOR HELP.. HELP CAME TO THEM.. BUT REBUILDING FROM THAT FIRE COULD TAKE YEARS. Three weeks ago big sur residents were coming to the ranger station hoping to get answers regarding the raging pfeiffer fire.. On friday they came here to get answers on rebuilding their homes and their lives.. Jerry Schiff, homeowner 12:44 the meeting today provided a lot of answers a lot of questions as well its overwhelming :49 because where do you go first :51 on this day.. The fire victims didn't have to go far.. Help came to them.. local, state, and federal agencies all in one place.. A one stop shop to get answers on anything from building permits to replacing valuable documents lost in the fire.. Big sur fire chief martha karstans is one of those who lost everthing.. 28:24 they made that so much more simple here it took me all of two minutes to fill out form for my passport and social security number :30 anne 23:45 and to see all the agencies come together working so well together is just fabulous to see and the community and all of our efforts it really makes an easy transition to us getting back to some normalancy :59 but recovering from that devastating fire that destroyed nearly three dozen homes could take some time.. Fire victims could begin receiving new driver's licenses, passports, marriage certificates, even property tax breaks in the coming weeks.. But the rebuilding could take up to three years according to county and local leaders.. anne 24:12 but to see the headstart and to see them getting the ball rolling so fast and everybody right there for us to help us grease the wheels with wd-40 on it to allow the process to go faster it's such a relief :29 larry 32:01 and we've got good people we care about each other we're just doing the very best we may stub our toe here and there but I think we doing the very best we can to help people :09 COUPLE OF OTHER THINGS.. THE BIG SUR COAST PROPERTY OWNERS ASSOCIATION HAS RAISED MORE THAN 300-THOUSAND DOLLARS FOR FIRE VICTIMS WHICH IT IS NOW DISPERSING ON A PRIORITY BASIS.. AND NEXT WEEK THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS WILL CONSIDER A RESOLUTION THAT WOULD STREAMLINE THE PERMIT PROCESS FROM HOMEOWNERS.. AND ALSO WAIVE MANY OF THE PERMIT FEES.. ERIN .. ### HERE'S THE LATEST ON THE PFEIFFER FIRE: ROUGHLY 917 ACRES. 34 HOMES IN ALL WERE DESTROYED. THE CAUSE OF THE FIRE IS STILL UNDER INVESTIGATION.#

Blazes raging in forests and woodlands across California have taken the life of a firefighter and forced hundreds of people to flee their homes as crews continue to battle the flames from the air and the ground.